The 'Chase Master' Virat Kohli played a gritty knock of 84 runs to guide India to a tricky chase of 265 runs against an inexperienced but quality Australian bowling attack
India took revenge for their ODI World Cup 2023 final loss and defeated the world champions Australia by four wickets in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 held at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, 4 March 2025. (Match Highlights | Full Coverage )
The 'Chase Master' Virat Kohli played a gritty knock of 84 runs to guide India to a tricky chase of 265 runs against an inexperienced but quality Australian bowling attack.
Captain Rohit Sharma got a fine start with Shubman Gill but the vice-captain lost his wicket early while trying to play a cut shot. Captain followed him after making a quick 28, including a six and three fours.
Australia: Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Shreyas Iyer (45) continued his good form and added 91 runs for the third wicket with Kohli who went on to score his 74th ODI fifty in his 301st ODI match.
Axar Patel was sent before KL Rahul again and he played a vital 27-run knock but Nathan Ellis bowled him. Rahul came after that and made an unbeaten 42 off just 34 balls including two fours and as many sixes.
Kohli could not complete his 52nd ODI century when he 'gave' his wicket to Adam Zampa by playing a loose shot. He hit five fours in his hard-fought knock.
Hardik Pandya came to bat at number seven and hit three sixes and a four to put the game completely in India's favour. Rahul hit the winning six on the first delivery of the 49th over to win the match for India.
Earlier, India lost the toss again and were invited to bowl first in a must-win game. Mohammed Shami took the first wicket when he dismissed the opener batter Cooper Connolly in the third over.
Travis Head, who has a good record against India in knockout matches, was given multiple chances in the field but he eventually lost his wicket to Varun Chakravarthy when he was called to bowl the ninth over.
Marnus Labuschagne (29) and Steve Smith (73) built a partnership of 56 runs and kept Indian bowlers at bay for some time. Smith kept rotating strike and played a crucial role in Australia's batting.
Alex Carey also played a 61-run knock to take his team's score past 250 runs. Aussie tailenders played some shots in the end and took their team's total to 264 runs.
Virat Kohli was named Player of the Match for his match-winning knock. Rohit Sharma has lost only one match as a captain in any ICC event.
Now, the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be played in Dubai on Sunday, 9th March and the winner of the second semi-final match between South Africa and New Zealand will be up against India in the summit clash.
This will be India's third consecutive final of the ICC Champions Trophy and fifth final in the history of the tournament. India lost 2017 final against arch-rivals Pakistan.